Applying James W. Carey's landmark insights into the ritual functions of communication to the widespread and notably ceremonial genre of the family story raises questions about the consequences for enlightened discourse when certain expressive forms become, literally, sacred relics. Because knowledge of a family's foundational story can be the prerequisite for entry into a community whose members otherwise have little in common, such a story is often protected from contestation and is unavailable for use in Carey's central tasks of repairing and transforming reality.
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